Wickes has announced it will axe 100 head office jobs from its base in Watford as a cost-saving strategy amongst difficult trading conditions.

The retailer said: “In order to continue to drive growth for our business, we have been re-shaping our support centre to allow us to be leaner and more agile, and focus on key areas of growth in our multi-channel / digital businesses. The new structure will result in the reduction of approximately 100 out of 7,000 roles in the business. The business is committed to fully supporting all those affected.”

Owner of the DIY retailer, Travis Perkins Plc said in its third quarter report last year: "Despite continuing to invest in value to maintain price leadership in both Wickes and Toolstation, gross margin was unchanged in the period."

“We have delivered a good like-for-like sales performance across the group in the third quarter against a challenging market backdrop of input cost inflation and market volatility,” chief executive John Carter said.

“Trading conditions in our markets continue to be mixed, with consumer discretionary spending under pressure from rising inflation and on-going uncertainty in the UK economy.”